Why Don't They Just Quit?: : What families and friends need to know about addiction and recovery.

I recommend this book for anyone that has a family member or a friend with an addiction. The book gives you first hand experiences from the author that has been there. I can't recommend this book enough. It is a book that when you start reading it, you can't put it down. It helped me to understand what my son must be going thru and pretty much what to expect. It is a book about real people.

I recently purchased the DVD and book on "Why Don't They Just Quit" by Joe Herzanek. Having a son with a severe alcohol/drug abuse problem, who has been through more than one treatment program, I was desperately looking for answers, not hype or glitter. I consider "Why Don't They Just Quit" to be my "Bible" on drug abuse issues affecting the addict and the families. Mr. Herzanek lays it out in a straightforward way, using his and other's personal experiences to clarify the how and why of addiction and recovery. This is a must have tool for anyone that is impacted by a loved one's addiction.

One of the most frustrating and demoralizing experiences men and women have is watching the horrifically destructive impact of addiction upon the health, life, and relationships of a loved one. Often the disastrous consequences of addiction are so severe that we are led to shake our heads and wonder why the addict cannot simply stop the addiction that has so enslaved and ruined them. In "Why Don't They Just Quit?: What Families And Friends Need To Know About Addiction And Recovery", drawing upon thirteen years as an addiction counselor working in the Colorado criminal justice system, Joe Herzanek (himself a recovering addict who founded and presides over the Changing Lives Foundation) provides answers to more than thirty common (and not so common) questions that non-addicts have with respect to a loved one's addiction. Herzanek explains with illustrative clarity why addicts don't really have to hit 'rock bottom' before they are willing to be helped; when helping an addict is counter-productive; why quitting an addiction is not the same thing as recovering from that addiction; how to deal with an addict who has relapsed; how to obtain a 50% (or more) reduction in the medical costs of addiction treatments; why a parent would leave their own child due to a parent's addiction; why an effective intervention need not be an ambush-style confrontation with the addict. Articulate, 'real-world' practical, thoroughly 'user friendly', and strongly recommended reading, "Why Don't They Just Quit?" is also available on DVD. Counseling centers and community libraries are particularly encouraged to buy a "Why Don't They Just Quit?" book/DVD set for $39.95 to provide their patients and patrons with the alternatives of a book or DVD format.

Everyone's heard an addict's story - in one way or another. But, has anyone ever really understood it? From the opening page of this book, the reader is treated to real-life stories, practical tools and thought-provoking quotes that illustrate the journey to... through... and from addiction. The dynamics of the addict and their social structures are finally explained; from the environments they migrate to, the people they surround themselves with and finally, to the families that suffer as they watch their loved one's battle with addiction. An addict does not have to be one who is addicted to alcohol, a narcotic or a prescription. It could be food, or acceptance, or the overwhelming need to 'save' someone. No one is left behind in their quest for information in 'Why Don't They Just Quit'. This book will help not only the addict who doesn't yet 'recognize' themselves. But, it could also help the family and loved ones who just don't get... why they don't just quit! This book is a page turning, 'Most-Frequently-Asked-Questions' life-manual for anyone who wants to understand addiction and how it happens. With it, an addict is given the map on how they got that way; and the tools they'll need to find their way back. Family, friends and the addict's significant others are encouraged to face the role they play in the addict's life. "Don't clean me up... I need to remember - and see - what I have done." Everyone caught in the web of addiction are allowed, with this book, to interpret their actions and how they may be enabling the addict. Most of all, the addict learns to understand that quitting their addiction does not mean that they are no longer an addict... but that they are a recovering one. To stop using... does not 'fix' you. You must fix you! Being clean and sober does not mean 'the cure' has been found. That's when the work really begins - because everyone in an addict's life needs to recover. "To stop... is to begin." 'Why Don't They Just Quit' is an amazing testimonial to the struggles of everyone involved in addiction. It describes the tools to be 'well'; and prompts the courage to use them! Kudos to the author(s) to understand that people are interested in what the "bystanders" go through when someone they love is addicted. I think there are a lot of books written about/to the addict, but not so many about those whose lives are affected... and how they cope. I think that the "Al-Anon world" would be very interested. Everyone... should be interested in this book. Review by: Robin R. Rogers - Author of ROCK BOTTOM

I was one of the first to recieve Joe's Book "Why Don't they Just Quit?,I truly touched by Joes's struggles through life and was able to help his son avoid the very same problems he experienced in early adulthood.We all are affected by addictions, the person at work, a distant family member or even our own family. Joe opens his life for everyone to see, and will help parent's and loved ones to look for warning signs and identify steps a concerned person can take, along with a professional's advice. Joe is committed to anyone with an addiction, to begin recovery and total freedom. I encourage anyone, whether you are a parent, spouse or friend of an addict, or person with the problem, to take advantage of this information and once and for all, break the chains of addiction. Thank You Joe, For Having the Gut's To Get Real and Intern Save Lives. Michael Watkins